Behind the Decks MPLS

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "Somehow people don't understand maybe that jazz is Black American music... and that people gave it the name jazz to try to, like, diminish it somehow," says Kenna, a Minneapolis-born DJ, dancer, community radio host and roller skater, who joins Behind the Decks MPLS to trace how a family love of jazz grew into a life built around Black music and the spa...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "I've been the nostalgia act since like 2003... now I don't even know what I am—what's a really old cat? A super senior? So I'm a super senior, I guess, now," jokes Dorica Hayley, an underground Minneapolis DJ and producer whose journey mirrors the rise of the local electronic music scene. On this episode of Behind the Decks MPLS, Dorica Hayley—AKA Ralph...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “You can't pay me enough money to walk on a frozen lake. That's where I draw my line,” laughs Abel, Minneapolis DJ and house music mainstay, as he joins Behind the Decks MPLS to share his journey from Nigeria to the heart of the Midwest dance scene. In this episode, Abel opens up about the cold shock of immigrating to Minnesota, discovering his love of m...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "The music will set you free, baby. It’s the most important language the human species has ever developed," says James Patrick (JP), founder of SLAM Academy and Minneapolis electronic music mainstay, who joins Behind the Decks MPLS to trace his remarkable journey from mixtape-loving outlier and record store fixture to pioneering educator and respected be...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "I just think anybody who really enjoys music should try to do some sort of creative outlet involving music. And if that's DJing, because it's accessible right now, I think that's great—you don't want me singing. I can't play any instruments. For me, I like to share things because I like to learn things," shares Sheltron on Behind the Decks MPLS, reflect...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “Trans joy is resistance,” says Dana Kazuko, founder of Gateway, Minneapolis’ underground, trans-centered nightclub, who joins Behind the Decks MPLS to reveal how discovering house music transformed her life after years of feeling disconnected from music entirely. In a meteoric journey from first hearing dance music just a few years ago to building a gro...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "Bring your own perspective, bring your culture into it, bring your background into it, bring your loves and likes into it," says DJ Madre, the Minneapolis DJ and owner of Wax World, whose journey from growing up poor in South Minneapolis to curating inclusive, community-driven dance floors is anything but typical. On this episode of Behind the Decks MPL...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “You gotta support the people that support you and don’t go overboard for people that don’t do shit for you, basically. And buy your friends’ fucking music and play your friend’s music and then everything will be all right,” says , a Colombian-born DJ and producer whose journey from the salsa-soaked parties of Cali to the legendary clubs of New York City...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "Take advantage of your circle and the people around you that are already doing it, and don't be afraid to ask for help," says TNA, a rising star in Minneapolis’ house and electronic music scene. In this episode of Behind the Decks MPLS, TNA shares how moving from Dallas, Texas to snowy Stillwater shaped her eclectic musical tastes—from her parents' soul...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “When you talk to someone that you’ve never met, that is feeling a way—that you’ve created a space for them to have an emotion or a feeling or a connection or whatever that word is that they didn’t have when they walked in—that’s cool,” says Nick Gunz, Minneapolis DJ, party promoter, and community builder, who joins Behind the Decks MPLS to share how his...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “It’s like a charcuterie board of music—variety is the spice of life,” says Dazy Haze, Minneapolis-based DJ, public health professional, and creator who joins Behind the Decks MPLS to share her journey from classically trained pianist in Wisconsin to dynamic force in the Twin Cities’ electronic scene. As Dazy Haze explains, her musical palette was shaped...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube Discover in-depth DJ interviews, music production tips, and mental health discussions with Minneapolis artist Noel Jean in this Behind the Decks podcast episode! This conversation dives into DJ culture, house music influences, and authentic creative journeys, exploring Noel Jean’s transition from hip-hop roots to electronic music, the impact of vinyl, Ch...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube “So that really just like that first experience of being up till the break of dawn and, you know, hearing vinyl for the first time, that just triggered me of like, this is what I'm supposed to be listening to,” says Noel Jean, the Haitian-Tanzanian producer and DJ, who joins Start a Conversation to share the unlikely journey that transformed him from a p...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube Discover the vibrant Minneapolis–Twin Cities house and electronic music scene with Behind the Decks MPLS! In this premiere episode, host Harry Duran sits down with DJ Turnstyle for an in-depth conversation on DJ culture, local music history, breakdancing, and the roots of hip-hop and house in Minnesota. Featuring inspiring stories from the dancefloor to...

📺 Watch the Video on Spotify & YouTube "Love music. If you don't love music, if you're doing it for all the wrong reasons, that sincerity or lack of sincerity is going to show to the audience," says DJ Turnstyle, Minneapolis-based DJ, dancer, and lifelong explorer of hip-hop and house culture. As the inaugural guest on Behind the Decks MPLS, DJ Turnstyle shares the remarkable journey that sta...

Music scenes don’t grow from algorithms—they grow from people, late nights, and local rooms that shape the sound. Each episode of Behind the Decks features an in-depth interview with a DJ from the Minneapolis–Twin Cities scene, followed by a back-to-back DJ set that captures their style, influences, and energy behind the decks. If you love house and electronic music, DJ culture, local scenes, and...